UERMMMCI to Open First Philippine School for Prosthetics, Orthotics

The University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center Inc. (UERMMMCI), in cooperation with Nippon Foundation and Cambodia Trust, is set to open the Philippine School for Prosthetics and Orthotics (PSPO). The first of its kind in the country and only the 12th of its kind in the world, the PSPO is geared towards training, service and research on the fabrication, development and clinical application of mobility devices for persons with disability (PWD). The PSPO will be formalized via the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) by UERMMMCI President Romeo Divinagracia, Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa and Cambodia Trust Executive Director Carson Harte. The MOU, which will be signed on October 19, 2010, 12 nn, at the UERMMMCI College of Medicine Auditorium, will cover a 10-year, $7 Million grant for the PSPO curriculum.

The PSPO will be under the UERMMMCI College of Physical Therapy and will be based on World Health Organization guidelines and International Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics standards. The PSPO’s Bachelor of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics course offering will entail a total of five school years and will be open for SY 2011-2012 student applicants starting this November.

The program will benefit the Philippines immensely, considering that 5% of the Filipino population suffers from disabilities due to amputations, limb loss, paralysis, weakness or pain and are unable to go to school, seek employment and/or handle self-care due to the absence of prosthetic or orthotic devices. The PSPO would soon make prosthetic and orthotic service and devices more affordable and more readily available in the country, allowing PWDs to become more productive, empowered and fulfilled.

For more information on the PSPO, please contact the UERMMMCI College of Physical Therapy at 715-0861 local 291 or 713-3312 or visit www.uerm.edu.ph.